The Las Vegas Raiders' defense has looked great at times during the 2025 NFL season, and awful at others. There is no better example of this than how they have performed the past two weeks.
In Week 5, they traveled to face the Indianapolis Colts and were without Eric Stokes and Germaine Pratt, who did not travel with the team for non-injury reasons. The unit had its worst performance of the season, as it allowed 40 points, including a stretch of six consecutive touchdown drives.
Pratt was released the following day; however, Stokes returned against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The defense had its best showing, thus far, as it allowed a season-low ten points and 225 total yards. They also recorded a season-best six sacks and three takeaways.
Raiders' LB room justified the decision to move on from Germaine Pratt
Las Vegas' late-summer addition, Pratt, joined the Colts immediately following his release, and he had a strong debut with his new team. He finished with 11 total tackles, eight of which were solo tackles. The Raiders' linebacker group, however, showed that they will be just fine without him.
Devin White garnered most of the headlines following the Raiders' 20-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans. After all, he recorded nine total tackles, five solo tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one interception, one pivotal forced fumble and one pass defended.
He also single-handedly accounted for a ten-point swing, as his strip sack set Las Vegas up on the Titans' two-yard line, and his interception came with Tennessee in field goal range. White also became the first Raider to record a sack, interception and a forced fumble in the same game since Khalil Mack did it in 2016.
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The former All-Pro was not the only linebacker who played well, however, as Jamal Adams and Elandon Roberts each recorded four total tackles and had a positive impact on the game in multiple aspects. Pete Carroll praised the trio during his press conference on Monday.
"I love the way they play. I really love the way they play, and E-Rob has a big factor in that. His style is exactly what we're looking for: downhill, lights you up, really aggressive, really a great communicator to make sure that we make our calls, take advantage of the opportunities. And, the guys, I thought they played a really good game as a group," Carroll said. "I think E-Rob's kind of in the center of that. That's three wild freaking football players. Those guys love to play the game, and it's fun to see them have that kind of game."
The linebackers were pivotal for Las Vegas in Week 6. Roberts' 76.2 Pro Football Focus grade was tied with Tre Tucker for the best mark on the entire team. His 76.6 run defense grade trailed only Tyree Wilson, while his 68.6 coverage grade was second to Adams -- who led the team with a 68.9 mark. Meanwhile, White's 86.2 grade led the defense.
If the linebackers are able to maintain their level of play, Raiders fans will forget about the release of Pratt very soon. The unit will have a much tougher challenge next week as they travel to Kansas City to face Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs, but the linebacker unit's confidence is sky-high right now.